The Doha conference, organized by the Qatari National Human Rights Committee, together with the Ibn Kaldhun Center of Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim and NPWJ, took place on the 27-29 May 2007, providing a model of consultation between civil society and institutions, both at a regional and at a national level, also for other countries in the Region, gathering more that 300 participants in all. NPWJ took, in particular, responsibility to organise and elaborate the political and conceptual framework for the themes of the Role of External Actors and Transitional Justice.

The three-day conference provided an opportunity to analyse various topics related to political reforms and democratization in the Arab region, offering a further occasion of reflection on the status of the play within the MENA Region and elaborate priorities and strategies aimed at reinforcing and strengthening the democratic process in the Region.

The Conference was also the occasion for the launch and for the first board meeting of the Arab Democracy Foundation (ADF), an indigenous and independent non-governmental organisation, with a mandate to support democracy promotion throughout the MENA region, along the lines that were delineated by civil society through the Democracy Assistance Dialogue program in Venice in July 2005 and reaffirmed in concurrence with Governments of the Region at the Rabat Colloquium in October 2005. The ADF reinforces and is complementary to other similar initiatives such as the Foundation for the Future launched at the Bahrain Forum for the Future in November 2005. Italy was represented at the highest level, with the participation of Emma Bonino, Minister for International Trade and European Affairs.